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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I certainly did! All my children and their families came up on Christmas Eve and we all enjoyed watching the cousins playing together. Lovely!

My good friend sent me lots of embellies for scrapbooking and card making including some shimmer tape which I have always wanted to try.

I finished her "Thank You" card today, featuring one of my favorite images from the 'Joys of the Season' cart - the polar bear. I used lots of embossing and light blue pearl paper for the image shadows to make the white-on-white images 'pop.' So pretty! Thanks for visiting with me today. : ) Christine

Friday, December 19, 2014

One of the challenges at the Card and Craft club was to create a humorous Christmas card. I was hoping that my new stamps from Robyn at My Pink Stamper would come in time, but unfortunately there were delays. Sigh!

Looking at the Christmas svgs at Little Scraps Of Heaven, I found a 'Duck the Halls' image and remembered this post by Mamamostamps. Yes!

It was very easy to line up the squares using the x and y axis on Design Space and size the windows from the 'Spring Cottage' cart to match. I embossed the white mat for added dimension. The "Merry Christmas" phrase comes from the 'Phrases' cart and I used the Explore to write the sentiment inside.

I think it turned out kinda cute! I'm linking my card with the "Anything Goes" challenge at the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge blog. These are such fun challenges and the variety of entries is amazing. Check it out here.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

I can't believe that I've not finished my Christmas cards yet! Arghhhhh! Thanks to SVG Cuts and their box card set, I was able to whip out a few of these fun cards over the weekend.

I used the 'Merry Christmas Box Card' pattern and added the ornaments from the "Holiday Cakes" cart. You might recognize the paper as remnants from the Graphic 45 "Twas the Night Before Christmas" stack that I used for my Mistletoe Manor.

This box card is enormous so be prepared for extra postage if you are mailing it!

I was thrilled to see that the challenge this week at BBTB2 is to use an ornament cut. Perfect! I need to get busy pinning the DT's samples for inspiration for next year. Hop over and take a look. Thanks for visiting with me today. : ) Christine

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Have you ever visited Brenda Quintana's blog? She does the most amazing treat holders for Hershey Kisses and very generously shares tutorials with us. I've made a couple of the designs but for the December treats for the children at OHM, I went with a simplified version of the Christmas Tree here. So cute and the perfect little gift!

Master J. tested the kisses for quality control and pronounced that the red ones were best. Hmmm. Thanks for visiting with me today! : ) Christine

Sunday, December 7, 2014

We have a lovely tradition here along the Columbia River at this time of year - the Christmas Ships! People decorate their boats with thousands of lights and cruise up and down the river delighting the watchers on the banks.

We accompanied Master J. and our DD, and his 'other' Grandpa, to the ships last night and had such fun. He loved the "noman" and Santa on his sleigh, but his out and out favorite was the Fire Department boat decked out as a fire truck complete with turning wheels, ladder and smiley face. Now that was quite a concept for a 2 year old - a boat that looked and sounded like a fire truck!

A little chilly, and very hungry, we went to one of our favorite restaurants to celebrate Grandpa M's birthday. Yum!

I think that every guy in my family has had a card from me featuring the Robotz cart! It is so darn cute and I was very happy to have an excuse to use it again for Grandpa M's birthday. I love this cut and have always thought that he needed a guitar in his hands! I used lots of shimmer paper and the Herringbone embossing folder for texture. The robot, of course is on an action wobble so that he really rocks it out!

And inside

Sorry about the rotten picture. : ( The phrase "Rock On!" is sideways to send the message that it's all downhill from here! Well, he laughed! Thanks for visiting with me today. : ) Christine

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

The challenge at the Card and Craft Club in December, is "Old Time Christmas" and the items to be used include paper, a clothes pin, and a paper mustache. I left it until the last minute. (Really? LOL!) and all I could come up with was a Santa face on one of the cocoa cups that I have been creating for co-worker gifts. Actually it turned out kinda cute, but I expect everyone else had the same idea!

I used the Santa from the Doodlecharms cart, and sacrificed some of the Graphics 45 "Twas the Night Before Christmas" stack for an old fashioned feel to the container. What is more 'old time' than a Santa who is NOT watching his weight? Thanks for visiting with me today. : ) Christine

Friday, November 28, 2014

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Unfortunately, we didn't get to see ALL our family, this year but Master J. certainly kept us busy! You just can't tell a 2 year old to sit and salivate at the delicious turkey aroma for 30 more minutes. He wants dinner now!

Well, it's time to pack away the cornucopia, gourds, garlands of leaves and the Thanksgiving Cabin and put up the tree and the Mistletoe Manor. (Although with the release of the new Frozen cart, I was thinking it might be fun to make a 3D Elsa's castle decorated for Christmas with all the characters skating around it. What do you'all think?)

I have been working on the treats I love to make for my family to hand out to co-workers and friends and this year, I adapted the cocoa cup file from Lori Whitlock and filled it with my favorite Ghiradelli chocolates. The paper comes from Martha Stewart and the sentiment from CTMH Artbooking. The snowflake flourish comes from Theresa Collins' December 25th cart and I cut it from DCWV Glitzy Glitter paper on the Intricate Cuts setting. It's gorgeous!

I am going to link my treat containers to the Decorate to Celebrate challenge # 89 Anything Goes! This is one of my favorite sites to browse for inspiration. Check it out!

Thanks for visiting with me! Time to get on the road and deliver Master J back to his parents - who moved from their apartment to a house today! : ) Christine

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

I have SO enjoyed seeing all the versions of the Mistletoe Manor on Pinterest and on the SVG Cuts Facebook page. Mary gave us an amazing pattern file and set us free to adorn it in as many ways as we could think of! But, the magic happens when you add lights to the house and a photograph just does not do it justice. (So you will have to come see it for yourself, Sister!) Love it, love it, love it!

I, um, mentioned that I made a big mistake when I was making it and, unfortunately, I made another mistake yesterday when I let my 2 year old DGS see it lit up! However, a little extra glue and you can't even see where the repairs were needed! I have to say his reaction was lovely to see!

So my first mistake - I adhered the base pieces together in the wrong order and then glued the house down. Oooops! When I came to add the pillars - there was nowhere to put them! A creative repair was needed and a good coating of texture paste and fake snow plus glitter covered everything up. : )

Here's my version of the Mistletoe Manor: -

I used Graphics 45 "Twas the Night Before Christmas" stack and Bazzil paper to make the house sturdy. It was such a fun project!

Monday, November 17, 2014

I played at 'Little House on the Prairie' last week as we had two days of power cuts due to a rather nasty wind storm. The first day it was fun cooking on the wood stove; the second, not so much! DH trundled out the generator and we ran it for a few hours to recharge the propane stove battery, and keep the freezer and 'fridge nice and cold. I am so grateful to the PUD guys who worked overtime in the storm to get us up and running again. I had serious internet withdrawal, I can tell you! : )

Then on Thursday, it snowed all day! We were able to get down to pick up Master J. and give him a snow day which was fun, fun, fun! (Although, he did get upset because the snow kept covering up the images of Thomas on his boots! LOL!)

It was too cold to spend much time in the craft room, but I did get the SVG Cuts Mistletoe Manor cut out and assembled on the kitchen table over the weekend. I made a huge mistake which I need to cover up and then I'll share how it came out. Oooops!

Do you ever feel like you never finish anything? House cleaning, gardening, cooking, volunteer work, even keeping Cocoa's coat brushed and clipped are never ending tasks! And don't get me started on the saga of the new, and still unfinished, barn!

The answer, of course, is to download a pattern and make a card. I love the Autumn box cards from SVG Cuts. They are relatively simple and yet quite lovely when done. I chose to do the Thanksgiving box card, but felt the need to add a sentiment and a pie! I mean, nothing says 'Thanksgiving' like a turkey and a pie, right?

I used shimmer paper for the turkey and the cute patterned paper comes from a 6 x 6 Doodlebug stack. Isn't that lace panel in the side of the card fabulous? Well, now that's completed, I'm going back to cleaning the house! Thanks for visiting with me today. : ) Christine

Sunday, November 9, 2014

It was time to make the November treats for the children at OHM and I was determined to make a candy corn shaped box with candy corn and pumpkins inside. I could NOT find a 'candy corn' box in Design Space but I was sure that I had seen one somewhere. But where was it? (I hate those senior moments!) Ugghhh!

Eventually, I came across this 'Teardrop Treat Box' on the Fancy Boxes cart. Yeah! Then, I had to learn how to use the slice tool so that I could cut the different layers. Then, I found out that it does not glue together properly. Then, I found that I had 15 shades of orange card stock none of which were the exact same tone. Ugghhh!

I added a little bling and tied the top with jute thread and called it cute! Wait! Would the little boys want 'bling?' Ugghhh! Then, the old brain cells ground into motion and I remembered the BBTB2 Challenge this week - football! Quickly, I cut out a football from "Life's a Party' and goalpost from 'Team Spirit' and glued them in place. Double cute.

DH has his instructions for the OHM ladies - the children get to choose whether they have bling or a football. No sexism here! Thanks for visiting with me today. : ) : ) Christine

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

My sister was packing up to return to White Rock after house and animal sitting for us while we were in the U.K. and I was packing up the Halloween decor. A doubly sad occasion. : ( I hated putting away the SVG Cuts Bewitched Cabin. When all of a sudden, as Thomas says, an idea flew in my funnel! I would make a cabin for Thanksgiving! My sister was enthusiastic and full of ideas for the cabin. And here it is! Love that wreath on the door.

I did enjoy browsing the images in the Design Space library. I love having all those choices available in my subscription and while I ended up using carts that I do own, there's no way I would have pulled out all those carts had I been doing it the old way. Don't you just love the pie cooling on the window sill? That never happens at my house!

Here's the old tree at the back of the house and the leaves blowing around.

And I put the sentiment here on this big back wall.

The paper is from The Pumpkin Patch from DCWV. I used images from Autumn Celebrations, Thanksgiving, Wild Card, Heritage, and Mickey and Friends to name a few.

The challenge over at FCCB is "Anything Goes!" It's always fun and inspiring to look at all the entries for this one! Click on the link and have a look. : )

I am also adding my cabin at the Linky Party at Craftin' Desert Diva's where the theme is orange and brown. Great projects here. too.

Thanks for visiting with me today! Hope you like the cabin, Sister! : ) Christine

Friday, October 31, 2014

When I sewed clothes for myself and the DDs, I did not ever think twice about changing the fabric, adding extra embellishments or changing the neckline so WHY do I feel so guilty about messing with the designs from Mary at SVG Cuts, or Ashley at 3DCuts, the Make-It-Now projects or even the layouts and designs from the CTMH carts? I am, after all, just buying the pattern like I did when I bought a Butterick, or Style or Vogue dress pattern, right?

This question was nagging at me as I made S's card and gift card holder from the Artfully Sent cart. I love pop up cards and felt this Halloween scene was a great start but needed a little extra something like stars, a bat and an orange liner behind the windows.

I used my Technique Tuesday zipper die to make the pocket that conceals the Target gift card.

Here's the front: -

And a picture of Master J's fabulous dinosaur socks! He's going to be sorry he ever insisted on being in the blog when I show these posts to his girlfriends in 20 years time! LOL!

Thanks for visiting with me today. Time to get ready to Trick or Treat! : ) Christine

Thursday, October 30, 2014

I was 'enabled' into buying some gilding flakes by a very nice lady I met at the GNPE in Harrogate. She told me how easy they were to use and that I didn't need any special glue, etc. and indeed they looked gorgeous on all her projects.

They were the first thing I wanted to try but when I opened the box, it was like a mini explosion of foil flakes EVERYWHERE! Jamming the lid back on, I googled 'gilding flakes' and found a tutorial here for a mosaic card background. Love it! She recommends decanting the flakes immediately to a larger container. Great tip!

What a cool technique and one I will use again with my scraps.

Here's the front of G's card. Kitty comes from the Hello Kitty Greetings cart and the font I used for the sentiment is from Cherry Limeade.

I used my Technique Tuesday zip die on the inside so that G can access the gift card from one of her favorite stores, Target. I usually have a ton of little gifts for them but it wasn't happening this year! Hope she likes it.

The challenge over at FCCB is Halloween projects. There's tons of inspiration from the DT and the challenge entries. Check it out!

We had a wonderful trip to the UK visiting friends and family and researching our ancestors. Just wonderful! So many 'moments' like visiting the church where DH's grandparents got married, finding a four poster bed in our room in Annan, Scotland, and standing on the Giant's Causeway and hearing the tale of Finn McCoul from a real Irish storyteller.

On our way up to Yorkshire, we spent a couple of hours at the Great Northern Papercrafting Exposition in Harrogate. While I cruised the hall talking to everyone and trying to limit my purchases from Craftwork Cards, DH stocked up on some favorite food in the Yorkshire Cafe. I think I'll take him with me again as it was very convenient having someone to take care of my goodies while I went back for more!

Here's a couple of 'haul' pictures I took in the hotel. I could not post them earlier since our internet connections were sporadic and I returned home to a computer that was well and truly dead!

Thanks for visiting with me today! I'll be back later with a card I made using the gilding flakes. : ) Christine

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Provo Craft released the much-anticipated Print Then Cut upgrade for the Explore last night, when the East Coast was fast asleep! All I can say is that every crafter needs this machine. The accuracy of the cuts is amazing!

So here is my first project, waiting on the 'fridge, for Master J when he comes on Friday. Sorry about the pictures. :( It's not easy taking photos of a stainless steel 'fridge!

Thanks for visiting with me today. I'm off to 'play' again. This time - Hello Kitty! : ) Christine

Sunday, September 21, 2014

In September 2001, we came home with two of the most wonderful border collie pups ever! We named them Sam and Joe because traditionally, in Yorkshire, working dogs are given short names. They quickly settled into their new home and into our hearts.

Sadly, we lost Joe five years ago and last week, we had to say goodbye to Sam. Cocoa is as devastated as we are and won't let us move without coming along!

Joey and Sammy were excellent travelers and whenever the SUV slowed down their heads would pop up over the back seat to see if there was a walk in the offing. Here's how I remember them.

They loved running and playing 'fetch' on the beach and were spectacular frisbee players.

Their job was to patrol the yard and this they did with passion even in the snow.